U.S. Supreme Court v. Democracy: Crucial Battle Underway

[marmar]

from ReclaimDemocracy:



U.S. Supreme Court v. Democracy: Crucial Battle Underway
Century-old precedent barring direct corporate spending to control election outcomes is under attack

Published August 8, 2009


After hearing arguments during its last term in the case of Citizens United v FEC, the Supreme Court took unusual action by inviting re-argument of the case to evaluate century-old law (and more recent Supreme Court decisions) that prevent corporations from directly spending company funds to influence election outcomes.

ReclaimDemocracy.org chose not to engage in an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief in this case as we have in two related cases in recent years, knowing some of our close allies would (those cases were Randall v. Sorrell and Nike v. Kasky). We believe there is benefit in different organizations delivering the consistent message about the illegitimacy of corproations wielding any political "rights."

At least two amicus briefs filed in support of the appellee (the FEC) directly raise arguments against corporate personhood (all are linked above). It is the centerpiece of one written by Jeffrey Clements on behalf of the Program on Corporations, Law & Democracy; Women's International League for Peace & Democracy; Democracy Unlimited of Humboldt County, et al. Read their press release here.

The other brief was submitted by Demos on behalf of the American Independent Business Alliance. AMIBA's paticipation sets up a stark contrast, pitting America's small businesses against the global corporations-- represented by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce arguing to let corporations dominate elections even more thoroughly. AMIBA's press release offers an idea of the main argument without delving into the full brief.

We'll be covering the case in more depth as the oral arguments approach (Sept. 9) and add links to some of the most interesting perspectives from others on the case (see below).


Notable coverage from other sources

The SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the US) blog has a detailed case summary and links to every brief filed in the case.

A Century-Old Principle: Keep Corporate Money Out of Elections by Adam Cohen, NY Times, Aug. 11. We never thought we'd read Jefferson's "Crush in its birth" quote repeated by a member of the Times' editorial board. Though Cohen's opinion is in line with our stance, he mistakenly refersto the issue being about corporations contributing to political campaigns. In fact, the case involves corporations spending money to help elect or defeat a candidate on their own, not giving the money to a candidate's election campaign.

The Real Court Radicals by E.J. Dionne, Jr., Washington Post column, July 13.



http://reclaimdemocracy.org/corporate_speech/cu_v_fec_summary.php